KQED's live call-in program presents wide-ranging discussions of local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.
Airs on KQED Public Radio weekdays at 9am & 10am
Coming up on Forum:
For his new book about the "Ed Sullivan Show," former San Francisco Chronicle columnist Gerald Nachman interviewed more than 60 artists who performed on the program including Carol Burnett, Jackie Mason and Alan King. Nachman joins us to discuss the show and its legacy. His new book is "Right Here on Our Stage Tonight!: Ed Sullivan's America." Nachman's other books include "Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960's" and "Raised on Radio."
Host: Michael Krasny
Guests:
- Gerald Nachman, author, former columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and TV critic for the San Jose Mercury News
More Info:
- About the book "Right Here on Our Stage Tonight!: Ed Sullivan's America"
: at UCPress.edu
The Senate faces a crucial vote on Saturday to decide whether it will move the health care bill forward to a floor debate. We get an update on the developments and discuss the next steps.
Host: Michael Krasny
Guests:
- Noam Levey, reporter for the Los Angeles Times
- Shana Alex Lavarreda, research scientist and director of health insurance studies at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
Recently on Forum:

A state program that has invested billions to
shrink class sizes is coming apart, and the number of
kids in many California classrooms is at the highest
level in more than a decade. That's according to a new
investigation by California Watch, a project of the
Center for Investigative Reporting in collaboration with
KQED Public Radio. We'll find out how teachers are
coping with kindergarten through third grade classes
that have as many as 30 students, a situation now common
in districts like San Jose and Contra Costa County.
Meanwhile, some argue that with pressing budget cuts and
inconclusive evidence about the benefit of small class
sizes, class size reduction should not be a priority. We
explore the debate.
Host: Dave Iverson
Guests:
- Camille Haroldsen, third grade teacher at H.A. Hyde Elementary School
in Watsonville
- Louis Freedberg, director of California Watch, former member of the
editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle and
former executive director of the California Media Collaborative
- Norton Grubb, professor of policy, organization, measurement and
evaluation at UC Berkeley's School of Education and
author of "The Money Myth"
- Sheila Jordan, Alameda County superintendent of schools
More info:
-
Listen to the story from The California Report
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Voters will go to the polls next year to elect
a new governor, as well as to determine the political
fate of the state's junior senator, Barbara Boxer. A
year out, there's already a lot of action in the races.
We take stock of the political jockeying and the issues
facing California.
Host: Dave Iverson
Guests:
- Bill Whalen, research fellow at the Hoover Institution, former
speechwriter for Governor Pete Wilson and political
consultant to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Campbell
and Richard Riordan
- Chris LeHane, Democratic consultant, former press secretary for
Vice President Al Gore throughout the 2000
presidential campaign and a partner at Fabiani and LeHane
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In response to the UC Regents' vote to raise
tuition by 32 percent, a group of UC Berkeley students
has taken over Wheeler Hall and barricaded themselves
from police in protest. We get an update on the
situation. Then, drivers on seven Bay Area bridges may
soon see tolls go up $1 for cars, and for the first time
see a $3 toll in the carpool lane. The Bay Area Toll
Authority is holding hearings through next month on how
much to raise tolls. Officials say they need to charge
more due to rising costs, decreased bridge traffic and
the need to seismically retrofit the Dumbarton and
Antioch bridges. We discuss the various proposals, and
how they might impact drivers.
Host: Dave Iverson
Guests:
- Andi Walden, member of the Student Worker Activist Team (SWAT)
at UC Berkeley, an alliance of student groups and
campus workers' unions
- Dan Brekke, KQED reporter outside UC Berkeley's Wheeler Hall
- Bob Ramorino, chair of the California Trucking Association and
president of Roadstar Trucking Inc.
- John Goodwin, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission
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Author and journalist Michael Specter believes
that public fear and skepticism of technological
developments -- from vaccines to genetically modified
foods to synthetic biology -- threaten to undermine
scientific progress. He joins us in studio to discuss
his new book, "Denialism."
Host: Michael Krasny
Guests:
- Michael Specter, author and staff writer for The New Yorker
More info:
-
About "Denialism"
: at MichaelSpecter.com
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